San Jose’s three rental laws
San Jose regulates rentals through three ordinances that overlap. The Apartment Rent Ordinance limits rent increases in older buildings. The Tenant Protection Ordinance limits the reasons you can end a tenancy. The Ellis Act Ordinance sets notice and relocation rules when you take rent-stabilized units off the market.
The city’s Rent Stabilization Program runs all three and can be reached at (408) 975-4480. None of them replaces the state unlawful detainer process; they add steps and defenses on top of it.
Does the ARO, the TPO, or both cover your building?
The ARO covers apartment buildings with three or more units that were built and first rented before September 7, 1979. In those units, rent can rise no more than 5% in any 12-month period, and tenants can petition over unlawful increases or cuts in service.
The TPO is wider. It covers apartment buildings with three or more units of any age, plus guesthouses and unpermitted units. So a 1985 eight-unit building isn’t rent stabilized under the ARO but still needs a TPO just cause, and the state’s AB 1482 rent cap may apply to it instead.
| Building | ARO rent limit | TPO just cause |
|---|---|---|
| 3+ units, built and first rented before Sept. 7, 1979 | Yes, 5% per 12 months | Yes |
| 3+ units, built later | No (state law may apply) | Yes |
| Guesthouse or unpermitted unit | No | Yes |
The 13 just causes
Every termination notice must state at least one of the TPO’s 13 causes. The first eight are tenant-caused; the last five are owner or government decisions and carry relocation obligations.
- Tenant-caused: unpaid rent, material or habitual lease violations, damage to the apartment, refusing a similar or new rental agreement, disorderly conduct, refusing lawful access, an unapproved holdover subtenant, and criminal activity.
- Owner or government decisions: substantial rehabilitation, removal under the Ellis Act, owner move-in, a city code enforcement order requiring a move-out, and converting an unpermitted unit to permitted use.
Sending your notice to the city within three days
San Jose requires you to provide a copy of the notice of termination to the city within three days of serving it on the tenant. The Housing Department takes submissions through an online form, and it’s the step owners most often forget on a routine 3-day notice to pay or quit.
Serve the notice with a copy of the city’s Resources and Referrals Notice, and make sure the TPO required posting is given to tenants or posted in a common area of the building. The TPO also bars disclosing or threatening to disclose a tenant’s immigration or citizenship status as retaliation.
Relocation for causes 9 through 13
When you remove a tenant for substantial rehabilitation, an Ellis Act withdrawal, owner move-in, a code enforcement order or an unpermitted-unit conversion, the TPO requires relocation benefits, due at the time you serve the notice. These are the amounts the city’s TPO page lists as of October 2026.
| Unit size | Relocation benefit |
|---|---|
| Studio | $6,925 |
| One-bedroom | $8,400 |
| Two-bedroom | $10,353 |
| Three-bedroom | $12,414 |
Ellis Act withdrawals in San Jose
The Ellis Act Ordinance applies to apartments built before September 1979 in buildings of three or more units. If you demolish or remove those units from the rental market, displaced tenants may be owed relocation benefits, and the city requires advance notice of 120 days or more.
Withdrawal is an all-or-nothing decision for the building under the state Ellis Act, and it comes with re-rental restrictions, so it’s rarely the right tool for a single problem unit. The state rules are in Government Code 7060 and following, and San Jose’s ordinance adds the local notice and benefit layer.
Notice mistakes that sink San Jose cases
Most San Jose evictions that fail do so on paperwork, not facts. Run through this list before anything goes out the door.
- No just cause stated, or a cause that isn’t one of the 13 on the TPO list.
- No copy of the Resources and Referrals Notice served with the termination notice.
- No copy sent to the city within three days of service.
- Relocation for causes 9 through 13 not paid when the notice is served.
- A 3-day notice that demands late fees, utilities or other charges along with rent.
- A curable lease violation terminated without first serving a notice to cure, which state law requires for tenancies covered by AB 1482 under CCP 1161(3).
- An ARO rent increase above 5% in the prior 12 months, which gives the tenant a counterclaim and a petition.
The California steps, in brief
The court process is the state unlawful detainer: a 3-day notice to pay or quit that skips weekends and court holidays, a complaint, 10 court days for the tenant to answer, trial within 20 days of a request and the sheriff’s writ. Our California eviction process guide covers the statutes and AB 1482 in detail.
Santa Clara County Superior Court in downtown San Jose
File at the Clerk’s Office of the Superior Court of Santa Clara County, 191 North First Street, San Jose. The court’s self-help instructions list the papers you bring: the civil case cover sheet (CM-010), the landlord’s verification regarding rental assistance (UD-120), the summons (SUM-130), the complaint (UD-100), a copy of the lease, the notice and its proof of service. The first-paper fee follows the 2026 Statewide Civil Fee Schedule, $240 when the demand is $10,000 or less.
An adult other than you serves the tenant and completes the proof of service (POS-010), which you file. If the tenant doesn’t answer within 10 court days, you request a default. If the tenant answers, either side files a request to set the case for trial (UD-150). The court holds unlawful detainer hearings Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings at 191 North First Street, and its Self-Help Center is next door at 201 North First Street.
After judgment, the Santa Clara County Sheriff enforces the writ and removes the occupants after the five days CCP 715.020 allows.
Rent Registry and program fees
Owners of ARO units must update occupancy information for each apartment in the city’s Rent Registry every year, using city-issued login credentials. Buildings with ARO units also pay an annual program fee, billed with Code Enforcement’s occupancy permit fee. Keep both current, because a buyer’s due diligence will check them and a tenant’s lawyer may too. Accurate registry entries can also help show an increase stayed within the 5% limit if a tenant petitions.
Worked example: a nonpayment case in a 1970s Willow Glen building
Assume a two-bedroom renting for $2,950 in a 12-unit Willow Glen building built in 1972, so both the ARO and TPO apply. Rent due Monday, November 1, 2027 goes unpaid. You serve a 3-day notice citing unpaid rent, with the Resources and Referrals Notice, on Tuesday, November 2. It expires Friday, November 5, the same day your copy is due to the city.
You file Monday, November 8 and serve that day. Ten court days, skipping Veterans Day, end Tuesday, November 23. Assume a default and writ Wednesday, November 24, the sheriff serving the writ Wednesday, December 1, and the lockout Tuesday, December 7.
That’s 36 days from the missed rent to possession. At about $96.99 a day ($2,950 × 12 ÷ 365), lost rent is $3,491.51. Add an assumed $1,800 attorney fee, the $240 filing fee and an assumed $150 for service, and the minimum cost is $5,681.51. By contrast, clearing two of the building’s two-bedrooms for a substantial rehab would cost $20,706 in relocation alone, paid when you serve the notices.
| Step | Date | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Rent missed | Mon Nov 1, 2027 | Lease |
| 3-day notice served | Tue Nov 2 | CCP 1161(2), TPO |
| Notice copy due to city | Fri Nov 5 | TPO, 3 days |
| Complaint filed and served | Mon Nov 8 | CCP 1166 |
| Response deadline | Tue Nov 23 | CCP 1167 |
| Default and writ | Wed Nov 24 | CCP 1169 |
| Sheriff serves writ | Wed Dec 1 | CCP 715.020 |
| Lockout | Tue Dec 7 | CCP 715.020(c) |
Selling a San Jose building with tenants in place
A sale isn’t one of the 13 just causes, so every tenancy, ARO rent level and pending case transfers to the buyer, who steps into your rights in any unlawful detainer. Have the city submissions, Rent Registry records and tenant estoppel certificates ready. A written cash-for-keys agreement with a firm move-out date can settle a problem unit before closing, but you don’t need to clear units to sell.
For an ARO building, buyers underwrite the in-place rents and the 5% ceiling on future increases, not market rent. A well-documented rent roll, clean city filings and no surprise relocation obligations usually matter more to the price than whether one difficult tenant is still in place.
Selling your San Jose apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in San Jose, occupied and as-is, including ARO buildings and buildings with a pending eviction. Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
